With 35 years in the music industry under his belt, Chris Nelson has a story or two to tell. Youngsters, listen up!
Chris Nelson has been playing music for over 35 years and has written a large volume of songs, mostly under the name of his former band, Fishkill.
In 2004, he turned the recording project into a live band and began playing music throughout the central Pennsylvania area. The band even participated in the 2005 Bodog Battle of the Bands in Philadelphia, where they made an impression on the crowd as something a little out of the ordinary. The band, however, only recorded six songs, three of which are live performances. Poor audience turnout and the loss of their first drummer altered the creative chemistry of the band and ultimately, they parted ways. Chris’ determination to succeed, however, is a lesson for any aspiring musician…
You’ve been making music for 25 years now Chris…how would you say your sound has evolved in that time and what’s been the highest points of your career so far?
As far as my sound, it has been both constant and evolving at the same time. The quality of the recordings and the complexity of the arrangements have matured as well as the songwriting style. I do, however, seem to have a constant sound no matter what style of music I am working with. I’m not sure if that is a good thing.
One of my favorite moments as a solo artist is when I was playing this local music festival on Fort Indiantown Gap as a solo acoustic performer. I was playing between live bands to keep the audience going. I started playing one of my songs and people got up and danced! Keep in mind, this was just me and a guitar; No one else. That really surprised me. Another incident was when I played at the Harrisburg Arts Festival and I was one of the first acts on the bill. There was absolutely no one around the stage when I started, but as I got into my set, slowly, people started assembling in front of the stage. I had attracted a small crowd by the time I finished! One of the audience members asked me to sign her t-shirt. That was really cool.
When you were stationed in New Mexico with the Air Force how easy was it to sneak off to your guitar?
I worked weekdays from 7:30 to 5:00 and I lived in the dormitories (similar to college dormitories) so I had a lot of free time, unless there was something going on like an excercise or some sort of mission-oriented action. (deployment, recall, etc.)
I actually found my way into a folk-rock trio. We were called spectrum and it was me, my friend Karl, who played a 12-string, and his girlfriend Sue, who was a singer. We’d practice in one of the lounges inside the dormitory. We all were songwriters and we managed to record a collection of five songs in a makeshift recording studio in downtown Alamagordo, NM. We also played three of our songs at the Holloman AFB Talent Showcase in 1984. That was a lot of fun.
Did your time in the military provide any inspiration for any of your tracks?
Lots! I think my time in the military had a lot to do with how I view life, in general. Specifically, I’ve written songs about getting Dear John letters, experiencing loss of privacy, and personal sacrifice. In fact, I’m still writing about it as I develop tunes for a new project. More on that later.
I also gained perspective on world events and how they affected me, and later on, my familiy personally. I was in Germany when terrorists blew up Rhein-Main Air base. Friends of mine were deployed in response to that. I was affected by the first Gulf War and of course, the events of 9-11. I learned that events like these were much more than just news stories.
How would you describe your sound?
The area where folk, rock, and blues overlap. It’s rough, noisy, and somewhat unpolished, but overall genuine.
You’re a multi-instrumentalist, how hard was that road to master?
Except for a brief stint attempting to play the trumpet in elementary school, I started out as a drummer. Later on, I learned how to play guitar. I primarily wanted to write songs, not neccesarily perform them live. In fact, I was terrified to actually play in front of an audience for a very long time! I decided to play in the Holloman AFB talent show and performed one of my original songs acoustically. Talk about initiation by fire! Everything seemed all right during rehearsals, but when that curtain opened up during the show, I felt all these eyes on me. It was overwhelming. I played the song as well as I could and when I got my first applause, I realized that I could perform for people.
Later, when I couldn’t find people to play with, I took on those parts for myself. To me, bass wasn’t that big of a jump from guitar so it came pretty easily. Keyboards are a slightly different story. I’d say that have an adversarial relationship with the piano. I can evoke piano-like sounds from the instrument, but I’d never consider myself a piano player. On organs and synths, I mostly play either meliodies on a few keys or some chords. As I said, I’m not at all skilled in playing the instrument.
Do you miss being in a band?
Yes, actually. I miss being able to concentrate on just one portion of the music rather than on everything. I also liked being able to share the feeling of making music with other people. When I was in the band, it felt like a brotherhood. It also was nice just coming up with a piece of something or a bare-bones version of a song and having everyone else add their ideas to make it something strong. That combination also creates a sound that is bigger than the sum of its parts.
What (or who) inspired you to pick up your first instrument?
That would have to be Steve Miller. I remember listening to his Fly Like an Eagle album and trying to imitate his sound. My friend Bill had the album and we’d listen to it at his house. Later, I got the Book of Dreams album and that was the beginning.
Who were your biggest musical influences from back in the day and who gets you excited now?
Back in the day I listened to the Steve Miller Band, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Moody Blues, Genesis, The Who, The Jam, The Smithereens and REM
No I’m into different sounds like Royal Blood, Slash with Miles Kennedy and the Conspirators, Machine Gun Kelly and numerous unsigned indie bands and artists that are too many to mention here
How do you approach song writing as a solo artist?
It usually starts with a melodic hook. I build a musical framework around that. In some cases, there is a phrase or a line that seems to fit with the tune. That usually forms a chorus. From there, the verses are written and the spot where a solo belongs usually shows itself shortly after that. In some cases, there will be additial add-ons that enhance the song’s presence, depending on the piece. I usually write what I feel, but sometimes, I’ll give myself an assignment to write about something in particular. I did a lot of that when I was working on my novel in music. I was trying to tell a story then and even though the songs could stand on their own, it was like building a jigsaw puzzle. All of the songs fit together to make a bigger picture. I’ve been using that same writing assignment approach with songs for this new project I’m working on, too.
Would you like to collaborate with anyone in the future? Who and why?
I am currently collaborating with Jayme Jack on an album. It’s a concept album about the military experience both as a military member and a military veteran. There’s also another unsigned musician who calls himself Idiotic Oddity who was looking for music to write lyrics for. I am working on building a backing track for him.
I think it would be fun to work with Todd and Karen or Plaid on Flannel. (both are unsigned indie artists) I recently approached one of my high school bandmates about collaborating, but he doesn’t know much about digital recording and lives too far away. As far as anyone in the major leagues, maybe Machine Gun Kelly. I like that pop punk sound. REM is gone, but it would be fun to do something with Peter Buck or Michael Stipe. I actually got to meet them when they played Saarbrueken, Germany in the 80s.
Can you tell us about your favourite song you’ve written and what it means to you?
Imagine me giving you a long, blank stare here. I have written so many songs that I really have to think about this…
I would have to say “Flying” is probably one of my favorites. It’s an upbeat-sounding tune about frustration and disappointment. I think that anyone who listens to it can relate to it without making them depressed. The idea is that all this stuff is going wrong, but if you were floating up in the air above it all, you wouldn’t be affected by it. I actually heard the keyboard riff to this in a dream and built everything else around it later. It also stands up surprisingly well as an acoustic number!
How do you keep your performances engaging as a solo artist?
I haven’t performed live in over ten years now. When I did, I just put as much as I could into each performance. That energy seems to be transmitted to the crowd and they send it back to you in the form of enthusiasm and applause. It didn’t happen all the time, but when the crowd was good, it was great.
What challenges do you face as a solo musician, and how do you overcome them?
The biggest one is staying original. I want to offer something different with each release while maintaining the same overall sound. I don’t like copying previously written material and if I did something with the sound one way before, it may not be done the same way again. Also, its easy to get into a rut with your songs, singing about the same things and saying the same thing over and over. I don’t want to do that. I don’t like when bands duplicate their songs and then rename them. I know, even the great Led Zeppelin is guilty of doing that once. (“Since I Been Lovin’ You” and “Tea For One” for example)
I am very critical of my own work and I try to keep that from happening by using that characteristic to my advantage. I’ve written songs that seemed like they were a good idea when I wrote them, but later decided not to use them. This is also why I’ve started using the assignment method of writing to pick subject matter to write about. That is another way to keep things original.
7 albums as a solo artist is pretty prolific, how do you stay focussed and motivated?
I write songs and when I feel its time, I begin working on a new project. I’m motivated because I like to make music. I get a great deal of pleasure from working in the studio and producing tracks for others to enjoy. Its great when others listen to what I’ve recorded.
How do you balance the creative and business aspects of your music career?
Terribly! I haven’t made very much money from music at all, but that’s not really why I do it. I’m more focused on making music and sharing it with others. It seems like there are a lot of folks who offer to help you out for a price, but they aren’t really doing anythihg for you, mostly for themselves. A friend of mine from college hired a publicist for thousands of dollars and didn’t get much of anything for the effort. My reward is when someone tells me they loved what they heard. These people who think that they’re going to be rich and famous stars are missing the whole point, in my opinion.
What do you hope people will take from your music?
I hope people will enjoy listening to it and want to hear it again. It would be nice if they paid attention to the words, but not many people actually do that. Essentially, I’d like people to do with my music what I’ve done when I listen to other people that I like. Keep it, play it again, and let others know about it. It would also be really cool if someone were to notice a song of mine, just by its sound and style. That, to me, is the mark of musical success.
What’s in the pipeline?
I have a few things brewing. First, as I mentioned before, there’s a collaborative project about the military and military veteran experience that I’m working on. It’s called Into the Storm and we want to release it on Veterans Day this year.
I also have another music video in the works for my song “Surveillance Song.” Not sure when that will be finished. I still have a few more scenes to shoot as well as all the editing. If you subscribe to my YouTube page, you’ll get a notice when it is uploaded.
Recently, I started re-recording a collection of songs that were written when I was in my teens and twenties. The idea here is to approach these old songs as if they were just written. Some of these songs have never been recorded before, so there is a lot of flexibility I didn’t have when I wrote them years ago. I plan to release these as singles until the whole collection is out, then offer it as an album on Bandcamp. Not sure if that will be an exclusive or not. (I already have one exclusive release there now.) The singles will be available on all music streaming and distribution sites.
I also have another collection of new songs that I hope to build another album with. Not sure when that will happen. I will let people know once these projects are completed. you can always join my email list and I’ll let you know what I’m up to and what’s new. Just go to my website www.chrisnelsonband.com to sign up. If email’s not your style, I’m on X, Facebook, and Instagram.
